Gas main treating oil



Patented Nov. 4, 1941 GAS MAIN TREATING 011.

Minor Plecker Andrews, Brooklyn,'N. YQ, assignor to Sun Oil Company,Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New Jersey No Drawing. ApplicationMay 5, 19 37,

' Serial N0. 140,959

6 Claims. (Cl. 106-285) The invention herein disclosed relates to the Itreatment of gas mains having bell and spigot joints. These joints, dueto the dehydration of the yarn employed as packing, have a tendency todevelop leaks, particularly with the use of the drier, strippedrefinery, natural and coke oven gases now largely employed in themanufacture of gas for domestic and industrial purposes.

Various methods and means to overcome such leaks have been proposed andto some extent practiced, but so far as known, these have not beenentirely successful or have been too expensive. In particular, it hasbeen found difficult to successfully treat soaped yarns or yarns thathave been caked with the hard gum which frequently forms in the mainsand the results of treating in the larger sized mains have not beensatisfactory.

Special objects of the present invention are to overcome diflicultiesand shortcomings of meth ods and materials heretofore proposed and toaccomplish effective elimination of leaks in the packed joints of gasmains in a simple practical way and with readily procurable materials,which will be of reasonable cost for the results accomplished.

These and other desirable objects are attained in this invention by thenovel features, steps and combinations hereinafter disclosed and broadlyclaimed.

Briefly stated, the invention involves the treatment of the packing ofgas main joints with a mixture or mixtures of soluble petroleum oil,high boiling point naphtha solvent and paracresol, usually combined witha larger volume of water.

As a practical example, one mixture which has proved particularlysatisfactory includes the following:

' v Per cent by weight Soluble petroleum oil 100-115 Saybolt secondviscosity at 100 F- 15 Petroleum naphtha 400-550 F. boiling point 10Paracresol, commercial pure distilled 1 to Water 74 to 70 Usually thesoluble oil, high boiling point naphtha solvent and paracresol are firstmixed to form a concentrate and such concentrate is shipped to the pointof use and there combined with approximately three parts water.

For the soluble oil any one of a number of different so-called solubleoils now on the market may be employed, these being known to comprise amajor amount of a petroleum oil of vis'cosities of the order of thatabove specified together with a minor amount of an emulsifying agentsuch as sodium rosinate, a sodium salt of sulphonated oil, or the like,to give them the solubility, miscibility or self-emulsifyingcharacteristic. The high boiling point naphtha preferably is afractionated petroleum solvent having a boiling point in the generalrange of the naphtha group. For the paracresol, the commercial distilledproduct of crystallin purity is satisfactory. This is a solid in theform of crystals, differing thus from cresol, metacresol, andorthometacresol which are liquid, and which do not have the same wettingand swelling effect upon the yarn.

While'any two of the three mainingredients may be combined and used toadvantage, it has been'found best to use all three, combined in aboutthe proportions given in the above example. The yarn, such as jute orthe like, is usually impregnated, or in some cases soaped. The gas hasthe effect of gradually dehydrating and dissolving out the impregnant,causing in efiect a shrinkage of the packing material. Much of themanufactured gas now in use is a dry gas largely free of dissolvedhydrocarbon or suspended moisture of any sort. This gas carries anappreciable quantity of dust. As a result, the drying out of the yarn ofthe packings is accompanied by a gradual deposit of heavy tar and moreor less hard gum, which interfere with or prevent access of ordinaryrestorative materials to the yarn. The high boiling solvent in thepresent mixture has the ability to out these heavy tar and gum depositsor coatings, providing access for the oil and the paracresol, which havethe effect of swelling the yarn and restoring its resiliency. Thewetting action of the paracresol is particularly important in thetreatment of larger sized mains, such as 16 inch diameter and up, thecapillary action being such that the liquid mixture contacting the yarnat the bottom of the joint will rapidly rise throughout the packing. Inaddition, the paracresol has a marked swelling effect on jute andsimilar yarns. This composition works with the same results on thesoaped yarns.

The usual mode of application is to introduce the water combined mixtureat a high point in a main, permitting it to flow by gravity to thejoints and collecting recoverable treating medium at low points in theline. Such treatment may be repeated as many times as found necessary.The material may be sprayed instead of being simply poured into the mainor be introduced by a hose passed into the main or otherwise. Themixture described is of special advantage also in dissolvingaccumulations of tars and gums at the low points or traps in the main.

While desirable ordinarily to use the compound as a water mixturebecause of the distributing, flowing and wetting efiects gained with thewater, it is possible to use the concentrate as such and this may bedesirable under extreme conditions of leakage or where recovery can beeffected without objectionable waste of the material. For average usehowever, the water mixture is preferred, providing as it does arelatively inexpensive composition which flows readily and which willcure the ordinary leaks and hold the joints tight over long extendedperiods. This mixture is non-corrosive and does not harm rubber or otherpacking medium which may be encountered. Also, it has no detrimentaleffect on the leather diaphragms in gas meters, it actually apparentlyhaving a beneficial softening effect on leathers which have been longsubjected to dry gas.

What is claimed is:

1. The herein disclosed composition for treatment of the packing used inbell and spigot joints of gas mains, comprising soluble oilapproximately 15 parts by Weight, high boiling point naphthaapproximately parts by weight and paracresol approximately 1 to 5 partsby weight.

2. A composition, for the treatment of the packing in joints of gasmains to prevent leakage, composed of about 3 parts of water and onepart of a mixture comprising a major proportion of a petroleum oilhaving a Saybolt viscosity of 100- 115 seconds at 100 F. and a naphthasolvent having a boiling range of 400550 F., a rosin soap emulsifyingagent and a small percentage of paracresol.

3. The herein disclosed composition for treatment of the packing used inbell and spigot joints of gas mains, comprising, by weight, soluble oilabout 15%, high boiling point naphtha about 10%, paracresol 1% to 5%,and water about 74% to 4. The herein disclosed composition for treatmentof the packing in bell and spigot joints of gas mains, comprisingsoluble petroleum oil approximately 15 parts by weight, a fractionatedpetroleum solvent having a boiling point in the general range of thenaphtha group approximately 10 parts by weight and paracresolapproximately l to 5 parts by weight.

5. A composition for the treatment of the packings in joints of gasmains to prevent leakage including a mixture of a soluble petroleum oiland paracresol which together act to wet and swell the fibre, and a highboiling point naphtha solvent adapted to cut the heavy tar and gumdeposits and promote access for the oil and paracresol, the percentageby weight of said oil being greater than the amount of naphtha and thepercentage of paracresol being sufiicient to give a pronounced capillaryaction to the mixture but being present in a percentage not over onesixth by weight of the mixture.

6. The herein disclosed composition for treatment of the packings injoints of gas mains comprising a major proportion of water and a minorbut substantial proportion of a mixture including a soluble petroleumoil, a high boiling point naphtha and paracresol; the percentage of thenaphtha by weight being multiple times that of the paracresol, thepercentage of soluble petroleum oil being greater than the percentage ofthe naphtha by weight, the naphtha being adapted to cut the heavy tarand gum deposits and the said oil and paracresol being adapted to wetand swell the yarn, the proportion of the paracresol being not over fiveper cent. but adequate to have a pronounced capillary action promotiveof said wetting and swelling effect.

MINOR PLECKER ANDREWS.

